Okay, so you can’t get a job at one of the big East Coast or West Coast comic book companies. Oh well, there are plenty of other opportunities out there. Have you ever thought of Chicago? Maybe the Evanston Campus of a major university?

The Library at Northwestern University is looking for a Library Assistant to catalog their comic book and underground comix collections in their “Department of Special Collections and University Archives.”

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If you buy comics, read comics, and collect comics, chances are you’re one of the 250,000 fans that want to actually work in comics. Good news – there are some prime comic book jobs that could have your name on them. Especially if you’d like to try working for Marvel Comics, Dark Horse, the Wildstorm division of DC out on the West Coast, and Archaia, publishers of one of my favorite comics, Mouse Guard.

DARK HORSE COMICS: If you’re in the Milwaukie, Oregon area, Dark Horse Comics is looking for you. Actually, they’re looking for a Comic Retail Manager. They want someone to work “in conjunction with Diamond Comics Distributor to service retailers in the worldwide market.” As someone who’s done that before, for a different publisher, I can tell you it’s not a bad job. They’re offering a full-time salary that ranges from $8.40 to $19.23 per hour, and includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Vacation, Sick Leave, Life Insurance, Long-Term Disability, Retirement, Travel Expenses, Education Reimbursement. Got to be at least 18-years-old though. There are a bunch of requirements and expectations, so head over to the listing at Book Jobs and see if it’s right for you. The job just went up on June 2, so there’s still plenty of time to get that resume over there.

ARCHAIA COMICS, the publishers of Mouse Guard, and Artesia are looking for an unpaid Summer Intern to do fun things like reading and writing coverage for film, television and comic book scripts, monitoring and updating Archaia social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and handling shipping and receiving, among other responsibilities.

If you dream of a comic book called “The Fantastic Four And Steve” or “Iron Jimmy,” or “Valerie’s Avengers,” you might be eligible for a job at Marvel Comics.

Marvel is currently looking for a batch fresh-faced students in need of a little academic credit. That’s right, if it’s summer, it must be intern season. Marvel needs interns in ”different departments to keep the old ship going full steam ahead, and we encourage students to apply to more than one department if they feel they have the skills that fit the bill.” A bill that will go unpaid, since these are unsalaried positions.

Details are at the Marvel Comics website, but internships range from handling art returns (yes, some artists are still Strathmore-based), Editorial Operations, Editorial, Production (hey, that’s the legendary “Marvel bullpen”!), Web/Online (analytics, web editorial, web design, web development, project management), Digital Comics (that’s where I’d go), Creative Services, Brand Assurance, Inventory, Business Development & Merchandising, Sales Communications, Legal, Accounting, Licensing & Consumer Products (toys!), Information Technology, IT Desktop, Human Resources (so you could, theoretically, hire yourself some day) and Print Production (learn it while you can). Those interships are all based in Marvel’s New York headquarters. Over in their L.A. offices in Beverly Hills, they need a few locals in Film Development, Marketing, Legal, Animation, and Interactive. I know someone who interned at Marvel Animation, and she had a blast.

If you’ve got the right stuff, and know your many Green Goblins, and the differences between A.I.M, S.H.I.E.L.D., The Serpent Society and Hydra, you’ve got a shot. And if you find out where they keep The Infinity Formula, let me know.

If DC Comics is more your style, you see about jobs at DC in a previous post.

It’s a tough, tough employment climate out there. Opportunities to grab a foothold in comics – especially old-school print comics – are few and far between. There’s at least one company publicly looking for someone right now. Could it be you?

Tokyopop, the manga giant that has been laying off staff over the past year or so in a pink slip tornado, needs a new editor, someone to “guide the selection, creation, development, and marketing of licensed manga products.” You’ll be working with the senior editor and associate publisher to manage all this licensed manga, so no OEL for you. You’ll also be doing what sounds like a lot of marketing stuff, but in a recession-based economy, it’s the underpaid multi-taskers who hang on the longest.

But before you get too excited and slap a few trendy buzzwords on your updated resume, you’ll need to meet a batch of requirements. Some include: the ability to write and speak Japanese (okay, I’m out), possession of a college degree (presumably your own), enough manga knowledge to be the Ken Jennings of Japanese culture, and have the positive can-do attitude that only a job in comic books can bring!